Did you know that French is the fifth most spoken language in the world? The Department of French invites you to explore its curriculum and to consider it as a major part of our commitment to humanistic inquiry and global citizenship.
The objective of the French major is to learn about French culture directly through its language and principally by way of its literature. Emphasis in courses is upon examination of significant authors or problems rather than on chronological survey. We read texts closely from a modern critical perspective, but without isolating them from their cultural context. To give students a better idea of the development of French culture throughout the centuries, we encourage majors to select courses from a wide range of historical periods, from the Middle Ages to the present.